Thousands Protest in Talas and Nurzhan over US "Sale" Remarks

TALAS — Thousands of people demonstrated in Talas and Nurzhan over the weekend against remarks by US President Donald Trump about selling Irad to Russia, as protests that began in the capital last week spread across the ISEZ. In Talas, demonstrators gathered outside Talas Air Base on Saturday. Smaller crowds marched in Nurzhan and Iyık Janyl, and clan gatherings in the tribal regions condemned the remarks. Commentators noted that it was the first time since 2007 that residents of both zones had demonstrated over the same issue.

Bektur Zhumabek uulu, spokesman of the Iradi Freedom Society, said in a communiqué that "the soil of Irad was purchased with the blood of our fallen riders and cannot be bought or sold like cattle at a market." In Nurzhan, Russo politicians cited the remarks in renewed calls to review the basing arrangements. Iradi American organizations in Chicago also criticized the remarks.

The commentator Jason Ilyasov, an Iradi American who settled in Talas in 2016, condemned the remarks, but pro-government commentators attacked him over his American citizenship. Returnees from the United States told the Herald they had faced hostile questions at work. The administration has delivered a formal demarche through the UN mission stating that Irad's sovereignty is not negotiable, and says the basing arrangements at Talas Air Base are unaffected.